The New Bridge and Interchange

Steel Deck Arch

The new Sellwood Bridge will feature a steel deck arch design, with three arches supporting the deck of the main river spans. (What is a steel deck arch?) The new bridge will measure 1,976 feet in length, including the main river spans and the east and west approaches. The three main river spans alone will be 1,275 feet long.

Conceptual renderings

View of the new Sellwood Bridge, looking east

View of the new Sellwood Bridge, looking west

Structural lighting

Plan view of bench, railing and lanes onthe new Sellwood Bridge

Bench and railing onthe new Sellwood Bridge

OR 43 Interchange Detail

View west of bridge from SE 6th and SE Tacoma, with public art totems

View north of bridge interchange from Hwy. 43

Why a Steel Deck Arch?

The Community Advisory Committee that recommended the steel deck arch bridge type noted the following reasons for the choice:

Arched form fits the natural setting

Appropriate to neighborhood scale

Open steel structure echoes character of the first bridge

Top-ranked bridge type in public on-line survey

Adds to city's unique bridge collection

Can be built within the established budget

Has high technical performance

Sustainable – components are made of recycled steel

Provides employment opportunities for local firms to build

The Locally Preferred Alternative

The Locally Preferred Alternative, selected in 2009, determined that the new Sellwood Bridge would:

Be built in its current alignment and widened 15 feet to the south to allow for continuous traffic flow during construction

Be 64 feet at a cross-section of its narrowest point: two 12-foot travel lanes, two 12-foot shared use sidewalks, and two 6.5-foot bike lanes/emergency shoulders

Include a grade-separated and signalized interchange at the OR 43 (SW Macadam Avenue) intersection on the west end

Include a pedestrian-activated signal at the intersection of SE Tacoma Street and SE 6th Avenue on the east end

Extensive public outreach occurred during the selection of the Locally Preferred Alternative to ensure that the public was involved in the process in a meaningful way.

After the planning process was complete, including the necessary approvals from state and federal agencies, Multnomah County and its partners sought to reduce the project costs and shrink the overall footprint, particularly at the west end connection with Highway 43. Planners succeeded in trimming the project back and reducing environmental impacts while maintaining multimodal functionality, safety and traffic performance.

Refinements made to the Locally Preferred Alternative, approved by the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners in 2011, include: